Debra BowenEx Officio

February 16, 2012

Debra Bowen is a pioneer in open government reform, election integrity and personal privacy rights. She became the sixth woman in California history elected to a statewide constitutional office when she was elected as Secretary of State in November 2006.

As the state’s chief elections officer, Secretary Bowen is responsible for overseeing state and federal elections, a role that requires her to test and certify all voting equipment. Her goal is to ensure that voting machines certified for use in California elections are secure, accurate, reliable and accessible, and every voter’s ballot is counted exactly as it was cast.

As Secretary of State, Bowen is also charged with managing many business filings, campaign finance and lobbying activity filings, the state archives and other key government services.

An attorney, Bowen most recently served 14 years as a lawmaker in the State Assembly and Senate. She authored landmark consumer protection laws to protect people from becoming identity theft victims and closed the digital divide by authoring the first-in-the-world law that put all of California’s legislative information online.